THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. The United States Senate is now
considering my nomination of Judge Sam Alito to be an associate justice
on the Supreme Court. As Americans saw in his confirmation hearings,
Sam Alito is a man of great character and integrity. He has more prior
judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70
years. He understands that the role of a judge is to strictly interpret
the law, not to advance a personal or political agenda. And throughout
his extraordinary career, Sam Alito has earned the tremendous respect of
his colleagues and attorneys across the political spectrum.

This past Wednesday, I met with a distinguished group of 39 former law
clerks to Judge Alito. During Judge Alito's 15 years on the bench,
these fine men and women have worked side-by-side with him, providing
legal research, discussing and debating pending cases, and seeing
firsthand how he arrives at decisions. They are uniquely qualified to
assess what kind of Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito would be, and they
are united in their strong support of Judge Alito's nomination.

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FAQ

One of Judge Alito's former clerks, who describes herself as a
"left-leaning Democrat," says this about Sam Alito: "He's a man of
great decency, integrity, and character. I believe very strongly he
deserves to be confirmed as the Court's next associate justice."
Another former clerk worked on Senator Kerry's presidential campaign.
She says this about Judge Alito: "His approach to judging is not about
personal ideology or ambition, but about hard work and devotion to law
and justice." In fact, Judge Alito has the strong support of all 54 of
his former clerks, regardless of their political beliefs. They know him
well, and they know he'll make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.

Judge Alito has also earned broad support from his fellow judges on the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Seven of them took the extraordinary
step of testifying on his behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Former Chief Judge Ed Becker -- who sat with Judge Alito on more than
1,000 cases -- said this about his colleague: "He's a real judge,
deciding each case on the facts and the law, not on his personal views."
Another colleague on the Third Circuit who was appointed by President
Clinton said this about Judge Alito: "He is a fair-minded man, a modest
man, a humble man, and he reveres the rule of law." This judge went on
to say that, if confirmed, Judge Alito "will serve as a marvelous and
distinguished associate justice."

Judge Alito received the American Bar Association's highest possible
rating -- a unanimous "well-qualified." The ABA based its rating on its
assessment of Judge Alito's integrity, professional competence, and
judicial temperament. In the past, leading Democratic senators have
called the ABA rating the "gold standard" for judicial nominees.

This past week, Judge Alito gained the endorsement of Pennsylvania's
Democratic Governor, Ed Rendell. Governor Rendell said he was not
pleased with the partisan way some of his fellow Democrats have handled
Sam Alito's nomination. Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia
announced he was voting for Judge Alito. And he said that many people
in his state were calling the treatment of Judge Alito by some Democrats
"an outrage and a disgrace." Another Democratic Senator expressed
concern that the Senate confirmation process in recent years has become
"overly politicized, to the detriment of the rule of law."

The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to hold an up-or-down
vote on Judge Alito's nomination. Throughout its 216-year history, the
Senate has held an up-or-down vote on every Supreme Court nominee with
majority Senate support. Judge Alito has demonstrated that he is
eminently qualified to serve on our nation's highest court, and America
is fortunate to have a man of his integrity and intellect willing to
serve.

I'm grateful to Judge Alito, his wife Martha, and the Alito children for
their patience and dignity during the process. And I look forward to
the Senate voting to confirm Judge Sam Alito as the 110th justice of the
Supreme Court.